Daily Republican., 1887-06-10

Rntsrsd 1t the Post Once NJ Whining
= Del., - second class mail matter.
Indisent Aged People.
A couple OF weeks ago . couple OF
nonogenArians, man and wife, named
Iisdhorf, DOM United suicide under the
most distressing circumstances at1
Union HUI, New jersey, the more dis
rsssing whom, by little generosity on
he part Of the neig hbors, the terrible
Eagedy might hAvs been averled.
they were respectively ninety and
ninety -one years Of age, the husband
he elder. He WAS . scholar and . |
man OF science and had Allied some i'm
poe tAnt stations In Institutions OF learn.
ING. They had by their frugAlity 20
pumulatea little money which had
become exhausted, and naturally the
pecuAiary straits to which they were
reduced were felt very bitterly by them.
TO make matters worse with them, the
neighbors appeared to have become Of
Tended and the harsh solution OF the
question was thAt the old and INDECENT
couple should be sent to the almshouse.
A. might have been expected this was
their sentence of death. The poor-house
b them meant not only utter degrade
sion, but what to them who had lived .
long and honorable life % husband and
wife, what WAS far less endurable,
namely, separation. Unfortunately
such public institutions are conducted
With Q rigid and cast iron practtosbih-
ty, . total disregard Of what some poo.
pie call sentiment, but what those OF
naturally refined feelings call humAni-
~. The RUE thA. man and wife may
not live together In the poor-house Is
one that IL liable to y ear the aspect OF
brutality In the eyes OF such as hold
that love should be An integral part OF
human life. But with the most un-
r''H',ng severity, they are thrust apart
without ceremony, and this WAS the
fate that awaited an educated, refined,
sensitive and affsotionAte husband and
wife who had lived together 80 long
that their lives made but single exist.
enoe. Nothing 90 disAs srous as separa-
tion could happen to them. Topretend
- provide for them, to prolong their
Mves, On the fatal condition that they
should thenceforth live apart from one
ano.her, must have seemed to them
but bitter mockery. The announce
mont Of the officer who came to carry
Shom to the posr-house was In effect
the end Of all things to them. They
could suffer on in poverty with the
most stsnty subsistence Of life, but to
b separated now when they had over
reached the age Of ninety, they oould
no. endure that.
It 10 not strange that under such cir
oumstances they had elsc!ed to die TO-
gsther.
80 the poor old couple plead for lit
tie more time viii ID was granted. This
story Of tho execution Of the harsh SEN
tenoe Of the law was made use OF by
the husband in procuring q deadly pol
son which they both took and lay down
and died together. This was the sor.
rowful end Of what would otherwise,
had the local auth orities been permit
ted to carry out their purposes, have
been prolonged tragedy. The Sled
horis could afford to die but they could
not 60 to the poor-house to end ever
. few years Of an honorable long life
I'll Is pity that instead OF sending
them TO the poor house, an effort hat
not been made to procure for them TIT
sufficed 10 maintain them during thu
inevitably short period OF their live!
still left, and under 9 roof having som,
ofthe appearance and meaning OF hon,
for them. The owner OF the house II
which they lived Is said to have beel
very kind to them, and another neish
Dor was also generous. Surely thel
they might have been taken care G
elsewhere than in the almshouse, an
surely even those who were most shock
ed at their suicide should be slow t
tmpute blame when the trial and tenn
tatlon were 80 strong,
One OF the practical lessons to /
learned from shis tragedy is that HON,
should be prepared for aged people.
Many Of them have lived vir.uou
and honorable lives In the com N unity
they have been useful citizsns. The
msy perchance have spent their sui
stance In the investi gaiioH of scien6
for the good OF the com IL unity, but q
ter all that, when extreme old age conn
on there is no home for them ex oept
the almshouse. We know Ut an II
stance In our own city OF Wilmington
where an aged man and his wife wei
separated, but the wife was taken to Il
Home for Aged Women and the hu
band taken to the almshouse. I'll
wife died hrst and the rigid rule OF th
amshouse was relaxed 30 far as to pei
init the husband to attend the funera
Those people had been our very be-
citizens. The husband, q mechani
who gave literally to the poor when
prosperous circumstances. There shuu
be In communities like WILMINGTON,
home, not only for aged women, bat
home for aged men, who should not
classed ss common paupers, and the
should be home where aged indigo
people who lived together as man al
wife happily for m5re than hall ce
tury should not be torn apart In an i
human manner.
The suicide Of the S.edhorfs |,
standing protest against this species
humanity.
COUNCILMAN William II Quinn o.
Ssc md ward, has com menoed the fl
ronnIar aabtun ~ NouncfI 9TH